Culture

The Use and Misuse of Names

By |

I intuitively feel that these experiences, mystical but also sensual and embodied, are the core of spirituality and the foundation that religions build their vast tottering edifices upon: these experiences that work for us, that we then work hard to name and explicate in full logical or fantastically elaborated detail. Naming is not only important but unavoidable … but once the naming develops into major exclusionary truth claims, … and once these get identified with the worldly power involved in religious organization then all the power of the experience gets harnessed to the groupthink and the powerplays (exclusions, repressions and crusades) and we have the worst of religion. Dave Belden in response to How I Became a Pagan

Reading Dave’s comment, I was reminded of Deepak Chopra’s saying “God gave humans the truth, and the devil came and he said, ‘Let’s give it a name and call it religion.'” There is an inescapable tension between experience and the words we use to describe that experience, which cannot help but remove us from the experience itself.

Culture

Dilemmas of Leadership

By |

Yesterday I came back from 9 days of teaching in a yearlong NVC leadership program. This was the last intensive of the year, and the 9th year of the program. As is often the case, I came face to face with the limits of my own leadership capacity. Specifically, I was grappling with my aversion to imposing anything on anyone, an ongoing challenge of significant intensity for me. Based on observing myself I am confident that because of this aversion I regularly involve groups in decisions that reduce efficiency of functioning without adding much empowerment value or meaning.

Non-Violent Communication (NVC)

The Edges of Confidence

By |

In my last post on The Fearless Heart I alluded to having discomfort when asked by a group of people on a conference call to share my own vision. I said I was planning to write a post about the incongruity of that discomfort. Now, sitting down to write about it, I am feeling it. I chose to write about this for a variety of reasons. Primary among them is the desire to make my humanity, fallibility, and limitations known to you who read this blog, so as to increase the possibility that you would trust yourself to take on more visibility.

Culture

How NVC Can Help Progressive Politics

By |

This is a response response to Michael Lerner’s comment about NVC (Nonviolent Communications) and progressive politics, which he posted here. Dear Michael,
I have been sitting for a couple of days now with the comment you posted on Sunday, reflecting deeply on how I want to respond. I am glad, first of all, that you and I have had sufficient connection and trust between us to continue this conversation personally if we wanted to. This is not the first time these topics come up, and I imagine we will continue to engage on them in the months and years to come, hoping that we are both well enough for long enough to do so. For now, I am writing this publicly because I want the readers to have the opportunity to understand how I see the issues you are raising.

Culture

How We Criticize, Hear and Are Empathic With Each Other: a Clash of Cultures Evident on Tikkun Daily

By |

The controversy over Be Scofield’s post on perceived racism in the mainstream, chiefly white, yoga world seems to me to reflect a clash of at least three American cultures. All three are made up of decent people trying their best to survive, thrive and help this suffering world. Be straddles these cultures. In his post he talks in the voice of one of them to his friends in another of them, and is getting very angry responses from some of those friends, partly perhaps because of the influence of a third culture that is rising today and that a lot of us are trying to learn from. These three I am calling white liberal culture, the critical writings of the oppressed, and nonviolent speech and action.

Empathy

Personal Growth and Social Change (7th and Final Post) and Invitation to a Phone Discussion

By |

Part 1 of this topic was posted on Aug 8, and links are provided below to all the other parts of this mini-series. This is the last segment. If you would like to participate in a real-time conversation with me about these topics (this Sunday, 9:30 – 11:00am Pacific Time), see below for more details, or go here to register. I started this mini-series with noting that none of us ultimately knows what would (will? could?) bring about significant change, beyond our experiments with alternatives, beyond a vision absent material resources, beyond the smallness of our efforts.

Culture

Personal Growth and Social Change (Part 6): A Gift Economy

By |

This mini-series started on Aug 8, and this is the seventh post so far. The previous post was on Sep 24. Each of the posts can be read separately. Example: Gift Economy
Because I have such a deep longing for a gift economy, so deep that truly every day hurts in seeing how far we are from such a system, I continually look for examples of gift economies already operating so I can sustain and expand the solidity of my faith in this possibility. I am less interested in hunter gatherer societies that still have gift economies than in examples within the existing modern capitalist economy.

Culture

Personal Growth and Social Change (Part 5)

By |

This mini-series started on Aug 8, and this is the seventh post so far. The previous post was on Sep 10. Each of the posts can be read separately. Working towards and creating change (as distinct from change happening, which is a constant in life) involves conscious choice and action. On the personal level, this means becoming more the person we would like to be, and creating new options for ourselves.

Culture

Personal Growth and Social Change (Part 4)

By |

This mini-series started on Aug 8, followed by part 2 and part 3. After posting a response to part 3, I now return to the next section – what actions can we take towards creating the world of our dreams that works for all? Joanna Macy has been urging us for some time now to operate simultaneously in three directions to move towards a sustainable future: “Holding Actions in defense of life on Earth: actions to slow the damage to Earth and its beings; Creation of Alternative Institutions: analysis of structural causes and creation of structural alternatives; and Shift in Perceptions of Reality, both cognitively and spiritually: a fundamental shift in worldview and values”.* I would like to address and provide concrete examples to how each of these could be done in a manner that is fully consistent with principled nonviolence, the Gandhian approach. The list below is far far from exhaustive, and I only mean it to be an illustration and food for thought for those who want to take action. Obstructive Action Done with Love
Acts of civil disobedience have been a mainstay of nonviolent social change movements for a long time.

Culture

Collaborative Decision-Making: the Difference Between Being Willing and Being Passive

By |

This post is a response to Dave Belden’s comment on part 3 of my Personal Growth and Social Change mini-series. I believe what’s below will make more sense if you read part 3 of my mini-series and Dave’s comment before reading what’s below. When I wrote the section on willingness and group functioning I was well aware that what I was writing would not be practical. What would be needed in order to put any of this into practice is beyond the scope of what a blog entry here and there could support people in doing. Instead, I was reaching for enough clarity so that the ideas and images could inspire some people to want to explore, learn, experiment, and ask questions.